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Notebook

The Notebook: a potpourri of items of interest gathered from FDA news releases, other news sources, and the Federal Register (designated FR, with date of publication). The Federal Register is available in many public libraries.

Tobacco vending machines are no longer permitted in federal government buildings, according to a General Services Administration final rule effective last Jan. 25. The rule implements the "Prohibition of Cigarette Sales to Minors in Federal Buildings and Land Act," which also prohibits the distribution of free samples of tobacco products in space owned and leased by the government. (FR Jan. 25)

Quality assurance program and inspection guidance is available in a revised FDA compliance policy guide. "FDA Access to Results of Quality Assurance Program Audits and Inspections" provides general policy and guidance to FDA staff and may be useful to industry representatives. For a free copy, send a self-addressed label to Tom Chin, Office of Enforcement (HFC-230), Rockville, MD 20857; telephone (301) 827-0410. (FR Jan. 24)

Human food safety and antimicrobial drug residues in food animals are addressed in an FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine guidance document. "Microbiological Testing of Antimicrobial Drug Residues in Food" gives information about which antimicrobials may require supplemental testing, and recommends tests for establishing that drug residues will not cause intestinal problems in consumers. For a free copy, request Docket No. 93D-0398, and send two self-addressed labels to Communications and Education Branch (HFV-12), Rockville, MD 20855. (FR Jan. 30)

Food animal use of fluoroquinolone antimicrobial drugs is the subject of a report by FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. The report addresses concerns that the drugs may increase development of fluoroquinolone-resistant organisms that could be passed from animals to humans and cause disease. For a free copy, request Docket No. 95S-0199, and send two self-addressed labels to Communications and Education Branch (HFV-12), Rockville, MD 20855. (FR Jan. 4)

Raw meat and poultry nutritional labeling and safe handling information is available in a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service. The report provides data from a survey on food retailers' efforts to give consumers the information. For a free copy of the report, request Docket No. 95-053N, and send a self-addressed label to Charles R. Edwards, Product Assessment Division, FSIS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250. (FR Jan. 29)

Gaps in education may result in gaps in health care, according to a report by the National Center for Health Statistics. "Health, United States, 1994" shows that among people between 25 and 64, those with less than a high school education had more than double the death rate as those with at least one year of college. It also shows that women who do not finish high school are nearly eight times as likely to smoke during pregnancy as women who graduate college. Overall, the report states, the percent of women who smoked during pregnancy dropped from 20 percent in 1989 to 17 percent in 1992. For a free copy of the report, write to NCHS Data Dissemination Branch, Room 1064, Hyattsville, MD 20782; telephone (301) 436-8500; internet http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/nchshome.htm. (Public Health Reports, September-October 1995)

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FDA Consumer magazine (April 1996)